Means for controlling radiator systems



y 1945. J. G. ARTHUR 2,376,412

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING RADIATOR SYSTEMS Filed May 26. 1942 39 FIG. 7

\ ,4A 3 44 43' 44 raw 2/-- 7 42 lk 55 52 v F [5; .9 JAMES 6. ART/{URINVENTOR IFIGL B 54 i ATTORNEYS Patented May 22, 1945 Foa conmaommoSIS'IIEMSJ RADIATOR J amesl GL, Arthur, Seattle, wash. ApplicationMalyzfi 1942, SI'iB/I NO. 444,554

2. Claims I (o1. 285.410.)

This invention relates to means for controlling radiator systems and" ismore particularly useful in liquid radiation systemsofthe typeemployinga single pipe-for simultaneously conducting heatedwaterandcarrying away the, cooled liquid. i

It often occurs in such single pipe systems that, because ofthepeculiarities of the piping arrangement, a lack of care ininstallation; or altered conditions from the original layout, cer tainradiators will heat above the normal re quirementsplaced upon them; andcertain: other radiators in the system will be difficult to: heat evento the proximity of the requirements for which they were placed. Oftenthis is due to sl-iort circuiting' of heated liquid through; thatportion or the system which: more-easily circue. lates with aconsequence. that'- the harder heat ing portion or the circuit. doestnotreceive: adet-t quate fluid; and the radiators therein remain belownor-mal heat. i

There has been a lo'ng felt want for a: simple... andrefficientl meansfor balancing the-system; after the piping installation has been. made:sothat the-flow of heated fluid into: the: more: accessi'bl'e'radiators; can. box-restricted; or. so: that therflowc ofthe heatedfluidinto the: lessaccessible radiators; canbe: enhanced to: the end that atbal ance. throughout. the: system; isattained. andrthe fullest; 1eiliciency. is derived: therefrom.

It is; an important object of myinvention to provide,- means forsatisfactorily. combating this. problem and which. means; is: simple andefiicient in; its, operation in the practice of my method forcontrolling. such radiation systems.

Another object. of. the invention is totprovide a method of adjusting;and pro-setting radiationsystemsfor the maximum efiiciency from the,heated liquids. that are circulated. therethrough,, and an associatedobject is to provide. such a method-for use in a single piperadiationsysteml; ;A further object. of the invention is=to provide. a method. ofregulating theflowi or heated liquid. in a radiation.systemrwhichmethodcanbeeasilm installed and. practiced, and. when; perfected will. operateunattended 'thereatter.

,Still another. object ot the to an improved method of inducing. the.flow oi. liquid. in a single pipe. radiation system. to the endthatheated liquidsv are conveyed to the radiators which,.due.to theeculiarities of the. system and. so. forth. may unnaturally be.lay-passed. and thus. be. operating inefficiently; 1

Another and. further object. of; the invention is the. provision. ofmeans that. are. simple; inexa pensi'vefandj easily installedirorad'justingjand. controlling single pipe radiation systems and inventionrelates.

associated with this object is a further object namely thatofprovidinganovel coupling that is simple to construct and useful in practicing.saidmethodobjects: i i

Other objects and advantages of the i"myen-tion wiIlbemore apparentduring the courseof the following descriptionrwherein have shown anddescribed a preferred and modified form'- of. my invention. Throughoutthe drawing, like ref-- :1 erencenumerals refer to li'keparts, and thisto be observed at thisti'me tha-tit is my intentiomthat changes andalterations may be made in mate ri'al's; shapes and sizes of the variousparts of.

my' device; or changesmay'be made in the va rious steps of my methodwithout departing from the principles: defined by the In thedrawing;Figure l is a schematic showing of a radiation system or thesingle pipetype;

Figure 2 is a vertical medial section, line Z-Z of" Figure 1-, through acoupling which: I have originated for use in a radiation system.Figure-3 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line 3--3 of Figure 2;

sub-joined Claim-Si Figure e 'is*a vertical sectional view" taken on-Figure 5 is atypical vertical cross-sectional viewthrough the pipe of asingle pipe radiation system; on line 5--5 of Figure 1,

Figure dis a vertical sectional view similar to the showing of Fig-ureZ,but taken int-a plane at me 12; a

Figure 8 is a vertical medial sectional View" similar to the showing ofFigure 2, but illusa trating a modified form. of my invention,

Figure 9 is a bracketed view of a pair of reg-uemployed in the device:of

lator nipple nozzles Figure 8, and l Figure 10 1s a; perspective view ofalregulatorr or ported member as employed: in the coupling. ofFigureZi;r

The numeral a radiation system-with which may be: associated radiatorsl3 and M of the conventional. type:

Asshown in- Figura 1, the flow of liquid usedcfor:

heating the radiators isfrom the left to the-right and,- customa-ril'y,flow is induced in the radiator:

the valve IT in to'one side of the radiator; Om

the opposite" end of the radiator the elbow I181 I2 designatesthesingle. pipe. of.

and fluid being discharged from the radiator, is thus returned to thepipe l2.

As illustrated in Figures 4, 5, and 6, the flow of liquid through thepipe I2 and the T couplings is stratified. In the upper portion of thepipe the heated and lighter-weight liquid, as indicated by the numeral2|, flows above the axis AA and the heavier, cooler water being returnedto the heating plant is indicated by the numeral 22 and flows in thelower portion or below the axis AA. As is well known, these liquids,having varying degrees of temperature, will flow along in the pipe intheir separate strata and usually with limited co-mingling.

As shown in Figure 1, the T coupling is of a conventional type and hasassociated therewith a union 23 useful in effecting joinder of the pipesin the system.

As thestrata of liquid flows through the pipe I2 the Warmer fluid beingon top, rises through the stub l6 into the radiators l3 or l4 outthrough the drop stub l9 and is discharged into the pipe I2 through thecoupling 20.

A flanged bushing 26 is threaded on the stub l9 and has the interiorlythreaded female member 21 of a conventional union fitted thereto andcooperable with its flange 28, in the usual manner. Member 21 engagesthreads 30 on member which may be described as the male, portion of theunion, and may be incorporated with the T. coupling 20. Interiorly,member 20 has a threaded bore 32.

In the upper end of the threaded passage 32 I fit my port member 34which has the interior port 35 through which fluid being conducted fromthe radiator by stub l9 may pass. In the lower terminus of the passage32, the nozzle 38 is threadedly fitted. I have'providedit with threads39 so that it can be adjusted vertically in the passage 32 to vary thelevel of its lower discharge end with the conditions which are beingmet.

As shown in the figures, a kerf 40 is provided in member 38 in which aninstrument such as a screw driver can be fitted for rotating the device.Of course, this means may be varied without altering the device.

The member 34 is shown as having a flange 36 which also has a kerf 31 toassist in its insertion and removal from the threaded passage 32. In theport member 34, shown in position in Figure 2, the opening 35therethrough is of substantial size with relation to the member itself.In Figure 7 a slightly altered form of the port member is shown and isindicated by the numeral 42 as having a rather minute port 43therethrough. In its upper surface shallow openings '44 are provided forengagement by a spanner for turning it into or out of the passage 32.

In order to compensate for the area in the T- member 20 that is occupiedby the nozzle 38, the member may be bellied at 43 on either side as isshown in Figures 3 and 6.

In Figure 8 the T member 50 has the interiorly threaded passage 32 thatis similar to the structure of Figure 2 and in which is threaded theported nozzle member 52 for vertical movement therein. The nozzle 52 hasa kerf 53 in one end that is useful for turning the member in itsthreaded engagement in member 50. A plug 54 closes the opening 55 belowthe nozzle, and when this plug is removed access is readily available tothe interior of the coupling for adjustment of the ported nozzle. Themember 52 in Figure 8 is shown as having what may be described as amedium size port 56. In Figure 9 alternative sized ports 52 are shownand the one atthe left in the drawing has the relatively large port 51,while the one shown at the right in Figure 9 has the small port 58.

The amount of liquid that may pass through the ported nozzle is governedby the size of the port in the nozzle, in this form of the invention;whereas in the invention as shown in Figure 2, the discharge of cooledliquid from the radiator is governed by the size of the port in the portmember 34.

An important step in the practice of my methad is the adjustment of thenozzle member in either form shown, so that its lower end coincides withthe approximate line of demarcation, between the strata of heated andcooled fluids, passing through coupling 20 or the conductor pipe l2. Inother words, if the lower end of the nozzle is above the line ofdemarcation, cooled liquid passing out of the nozzle is discharged intothe strata of heated water tending to cool it by absorbing heattherefrom unncessarily. Conversel if the lower end of the nozzle is toolow in the housing of the coupling as to be somewhat below the line 'ofdemarcation'between the strata of fluids, the proper action is notobtained and the fullest efficiency of the device is lost. Consequently,the adjustment, vertically of the nozzle requires, it can be seen, theexercise of judgment and skill, and naturally an understanding of thecircumstances and conditions to be met and remedied by my device and mymethod.

An additional factor governing the satisfactory balancing of the systemis the regulation of the flow of liquid through a radiator. Thisregulation is accomplished by varying the size of the ports in themember 35 or the ports of the member 52. A radiator that is easilyheated because it will readily receive and circulate the liquid in thesystem ordinarily would be provided with a small discharge port so thatonly a limited quantity of the heated fluid can flow therethrough. Thisof course will force the heated fiuid to seek another source ofradiation and it can be seen that it would flow easily into a radiatorthat is less accessible under other conditions. This flow can beenhanced, naturally, by increasing the size of the ports in the couplingassociated with the latter radiator or by varying the particular sizeported nozzle that is employed.

To adjust the vertical height of the nozzle 38, the joinder betweenmember 21 and the thread 30 is disrupted and either the stub I9 is swungout of the way or else the T member 20 is swung slightly out of itsnormal axis and by inserting a screw driver into the kerf 31 the member34 can be removed from its seat. This provides access to the interior ofpassage 32 and permits the insertion of a screw driver into the kerf 40of member 38, whereupon then it may be turned. Thus this member will beraised or lowered to vary the height of its lower discharge end. The

port member would of course be replaced and the coupling properly joinedin a water tight manner into the circuit.

In adjusting the device of Figure 8 the plug 54 is removed and the toolfor turning member 52 is inserted into the kerf as above described.

It can be seen that it is possible by the use of my invention toapportion the proper predetermined amount of water that is required byeach unit in the distributing system of piping. Thus throughout theentire system a balance may be remote point in the system as evenly asit is to heat those more closely proximate to the source tems with theconsequentsaving of pipe and labor in the original installation.

As has been pointed out above the partsof the physical embodiment of myinvention are interchangeable as well as adjustable so that changes andalterations may be made in the system to meet conditions that arepresented simply and ,on the job, without requiring a great amount oftesting equipment or an undue amount of skill.

I claim:

1. In a single pipe radiation system wherein hot fluids are delivered-toa radiator and cooler fluids are withdrawn from such radiator boththrough a single pipe, a coupler from the discharge side of suchradiator to the single pipe, comprising: an inverted hollow T-shapedbody having its leg upstanding, means at each end of the head of saidbody for connecting sections of saidsingle pipe thereto in alignment,means on said leg for connecting a pipe from the radiator, a nippletubular throughout its length and mounted within said leg and having anend vertically movable into and out of the passage between the ends ofthe head of said body to thereby determine thelevel of discharge offluid passing downward through said leg and said nipple.

2. A coupler for the discharge side of a liquid radiator for connectingthe same into a singlepipe distribution and return system, comprising:an' inverted hollow T-shaped body having its leg upstanding, means ateach end of the crossmember of said body for connection thereto ofsections of said single pipe system in alignment, means on said leg forconnection thereto of a pipe from the radiator, a nipple tubularthroughout its length and mounted within said leg and having an endvertically movable into and out of the passage between the ends of thehead of said body to thereby determine the level of discharge of fluidpassing downward through said leg and said nipple, said nipple includingmeans operable from external said body for moving the same relative itsmounting in said leg.

JAMES G. ARTHUR.

